The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-02-19

wisdom Is Une place VI uuuoT5LaHu-
ing effectually concealed? True; sit
cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall
silver be weighed for the price thereof )"
but is it not to be purchased at all ?
The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us, in
the text, what it costs : sin much wis
dom is much grief, and he that in
creaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."
Communing with his own heart, the
writer, whom we will suppose to be
Solomon, exclaims, ''Lo l am come
to great estate and have gotten more
wisdom than all they that have been
before me in Jerusalem yea, my heart
had great experience of wisdom and
knowledge" Surely, no one had seen,
with such acute vision as Solomon,
every phase of human life; or had
passed as he through such range OF
human experience. He attained the
reputation of being the greatest and
wisest man of his day (; but he paid for
his wisdom the penalty of grief; his
increasing knowledge cost him increas-
ing sorrow.
The story runs, that when young
man, God appeared unto him by night,
and said, ASK what shall give thee."
Solomon requested wisdom and under
standing, and God said unto him, "Be-
cause this was in thine heart, and thou
hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor,
nor the life of thine enemies, neither
yet hast asked long life, but hast asked
wisdom and knowledge for myself, n =
wisdom and knowledge is granted unto
thee" His request was granted, but
the way is set forth in Ecclesiastes.
1t was not a miraculous endowment.
1t came not in a newborn brain. 1t
came as result of bitter experience, of
sorrow, of struggle. 1t came in disap-
pointment, calamity, and vexation of
spirit. How that mournful refrain
sounds through the book, "All is van
ity and vexation of spirit - There is
nothing of triumph till the very last,
and then a subdued triumph, "Fear
God and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man"-the
whole duty of man to-day as yesterday,
and will be the same forever.
If Solomon could have looked for
ward from that night when he made
request of God, and seen the tremen-
dous processes through which his de-
sire must pass to its fruition, he might
have shrunk back appalled,. But if his
desire for wisdom had struck its roots
deep into his heart-a desire for wis.,
dom that would not simply add to the
attachments of his intellect, but that
would enlarge and ennoble his entire
manhood-he would have taken the
risks and emphasized his request.
Our best wisdom to-day is that which
costs. Growth is promoted by sharp
griefs that dig up the heart. The les
sons by which we profit are written in
blood and fire. But the compensation
for bloody sweat and fiery trial, is that
we do learn; the compensation for
grief is wisdom, for sorrow knowledge.
The universe is accurately balanced.
The law of compensation holds in every
realm. The physical and moral come
alike within its scope, from the wrath
of tornado to the sufferings Of Jesus.
When the violence of nature levels
cities, it brings out in helpfulness that
fine humanity which was before all
creeds, and shall be after them. There
is no loss without its corresponding
gain, no anguish without its recon-
pense. We cannot always trace the OPP
erations of this law, but we infer the
things that are not seen from those that
do appear. We have proved the prin-
ciple so often that we trust it when it
works in darkness.
l. 1t is often source of trouble to
men that the past never satisfies. Ev-
cry legend of Eden closes with its des-
truction. 1t is not long that we take
delight in anything we have done.
cones sharpest competition is always
with his past" Let him do something
worthy of himself, and it soon becomes
a good instead of pleasure. Our in
SEPARATION comes not from the attained,
but from the unattained. The king
dom of God has never come; it is al
ways coming. Eden is in ruins, but
the New Jerusalem is before US. The
vision of John is better than the legend
of Moses. Tomorrow will bring us
grander arena and nobler deeds; the
deeds of yesterday are already poor and
shrunken. The best they can do for us
is to make appeal that we shall do bet
ter. Let a man lie down to rest upon
what he has achieved, and 10 the rose
leaves are fallen away, and he springs |
up from bed of thorns
The thirst for knowledge, the desire
for improvement is born in the human
soul. Dissatisfaction is the key to all |
progress. We must know, we must |
grow. To remain stationary is death.
The trouble in the stored garden was
not caused by the spirit of disobedience,
a ~. E.. I'M